Munshi Azimuddin al-Hanafi | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1838 |
| Died | 1922 (aged 83–84) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Taiyuni |
| Muslim leader | |
| Disciple of | Karamat Ali Jaunpuri |
Munshi Azimuddin Hanafi (1838–1922) was aBengaliIslamic scholar, social reformer, orator, poet and author.[1]
Munshi Azimuddin was born in 1838 to aBengali Muslim family ofMunshis in the village ofGozadia in theMymensingh District of theBengal Presidency (present-dayKishoreganj District,Bangladesh).[2] His father, Munshi Borhanullah, was abibliophile. The family was descended from one of theMughal emperorAurangzeb's ministers that were based inJahangir Nagar, who later settled in Gozadia, which was under the jurisdiction of theZamindars of Jangalbari.[3]
Azimuddin studied at the localmaktab up until the age of eleven years. He then pursued furtherIslamic studies inCalcutta andBombay. He became a disciple ofKaramat Ali Jaunpuri, founder of theTaiyuni movement, and associated himself with theHanafi school of jurisprudence.[1]
Munshi Azimuddin Hanafi rose to prominence as he engaged in literary and physical debates withFaraizi scholars, particular regardingFriday prayers. He performed theHajj pilgrimage twice, travelling toMecca by foot on both occasions. Azimuddin also supported the idea thatBritish India was not aterritory of war.[4]
He wrote most of his books inBengali in theputhi format and covered a variety of topics such as Islamic theology, history and women's rights.[5] A small number of his works were written inArabic andUrdu, and he was also proficient inPersian. Azimuddin has a large body of work titledAsrār as-Ṣalāh. His most notable work in Urdu wasResāla-e-Azīmuddīn Hanafī (1895) which challenged critics of theHanafi school of thought.[6] This work was published from the Ahmadi Press inCalcutta and began with aqasida written in Urdu.[7] Azimuddin Hanafi translated theFutūḥ al-Shām byAl-Waqidi into Bengali for the first time. Some of his other Bengali works include:[1]
Munshi Azimuddin Hanafi died inBengal in 1922. His works are preserved at the library of theIndia Office inLondon.[1] In 2005, Muhammad Abdur Rashid Bhuiyan published a research paper on Azimuddin's life titledMunshi Azimuddin Nama.[9][10]